They don’t lose football matches that often under the stewardship of Jose Mourinho but Chelsea fans in the Football Transfer Tavern suffered that very fate in the early hours of this morning.
Going down 4-2 to New York Red Bulls in their first pre-season fixture, it was a game to forget for the Blues’ latest signing Asmir Begovic who conceded four goals in his very first Blues appearance after replacing Thibaut Courtois in the second half at Red Bull Arena.
Defended by Mourinho for being tired following the game, Chelsea fans won’t be fearing that Courtois will be losing his first choice place between the sticks any time soon.
Of the faces in the Blues’ starting eleven, there was a place for Victor Moses who has since returned from his loan spell at Stoke City as well as Bertrand Traore, a Burkina Faso international who has returned to the first team after a fantastic goalscoring spell with Vitesse Arnhem in the Eredivisie.
These new faces will of course be on the fringes of Chelsea’s first team in 2015/16 given Jose Mourinho likes to run a tight ship in terms of his playing staff and with his strongest eleven probably already in mind, we’ve devised what we believe it to be here.
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Click on the image below to reveal what we believe to be the best starting XI Chelsea can field under Jose Mourinho next season.
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Thibaut Courtois
As discussed at the outset, Asmir Begovic has been brought in as Petr Cech’s replacement and somebody to challenge Thibaut Courtois for the number one jersey but the Bosnian would’ve hoped for a different debut to the nightmare one he suffered against the New York Red Bulls.
Courtois is right up there as one of the best goalkeepers in world football alongside Manuel Neuer and David De Gea and the best thing about him is that he boasts the kind of arrogant swagger that he won’t be beaten.
A man mountain standing at 6 ft 7 in, Chelsea’s defence is in good hands when the Belgian is between the sticks.
Branislav Ivanovic
How many times does Branislav Ivanovic let Chelsea down throughout the duration of a campaign? Not on many occasions is the answer.
We’ve become used to the Serbian international being incredibly consistent for Chelsea in years gone by and the 31-year-old has plenty of life still left in him.
Not only a fantastic defender who is also capable of filling in at centre back, Ivanovic is best suited at right back where he can bomb on down the flank to support attacks.
Also a threat from corners with his aerial ability, Ivanovic must be a dream player to manager who gets on with his job both quietly and confidently.
Gary Cahill
Perhaps he should be worried that Chelsea are so intent on landing John Stones from Everton this summer but we think that the Toffees man is being lined up as John Terry’s long-term successor rather than somebody to replace Cahill.
That said, given Stones’ potential as we’ve seen over the last two seasons, if he does sign, he could threaten Cahill’s place in Chelsea’s starting eleven.
Making the odd error, albeit not very often, Cahill is one of the most underrated players in the Chelsea team and has been part of Blues squads that have won all there is to win at club level.
John Terry
They call him their captain, leader and legend at Stamford Bridge and in 2015, John Terry is still giving absolutely everything to the Chelsea cause.
Enjoying arguably the best season of his career performance wise last term, Terry is like the Duracell bunny and just keeps on going despite now being 34-years-old.
Infamously written off by Rafael Benitez of course, Terry has come back to answer the critics in fantastic style and is still the finished article when it comes to defending.
Also a major threat from corners like Ivanovic, Terry isn’t heading for retirement any time soon.
Cesar Azpilicueta
Having seen Ashley Cole off at left back, Cesar Azpilicueta is one of the indispensable players in this Chelsea team, so much so that Jose Mourinho claimed they have the best left back in England following the friendly against the New York Red Bulls.
Behind the Spaniard at present is a dilemma however with Filipe Luis returning to Atletico Madrid and Chelsea needing to source a replacement.
Right now, everything points towards Chelsea signing FC Augsburg’s Ghanaian international left back Baba Rahman as a replacement and with little known about the player, Blues fans are taking this moment to ponder why they even bought Filipe Luis at all.
Nemanja Matic
Referred to as the ‘Matic role’ nowadays, that fact alone shows how successful Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic has been in the defensive midfield position.
Leaving to Benfica a boy and coming back a man, Matic is a man mountain in midfield, breaking up opposition attacks while feeding the attacking players ahead of him.
The perfect compliment to Cesc Fabregas in the middle of the park, it’s a simple case of carry on where you left off for Matic in the eyes of Chelsea supporters everywhere.
Cesc Fabregas
With Chelsea fans now having forgotten all about his previous Arsenal connections – almost – Cesc Fabregas is most definitely a Blue with a new ‘magic hat’ dedicated song to boot.
Having scooped his first Premier League title last term, the Spaniard showcased what he’d bring to this Chelsea team in his very first outing against Burnley in which he produced the assist of last season to Andre Schurrle.
A pass master, Fabregas has revolutionised Chelsea’s midfield and the partnership he enjoyed in the early part of last season with Diego Costa was simply frightening.
The Spanish international will enter 2015/16 with the intention of sustaining his best form for the duration of the campaign as opposed to part way through.
Willian
With Juan Cuadrado trying his best to p*** off Chelsea supporters since arriving from Fiorentina in January, we don’t think Willian will be having too many sleepless nights.
The Brazilian international is one of Mourinho’s disciples in respect of buying into his system of hard work and discipline, tracking back as well as fulfilling his attacking duties admirably.
While his final ball could do with some work, Willian is one of the cogs that keeps this Chelsea machine ticking over and he shouldn’t have any worries for a starting berth unless the Blues formalise their interest in Barcelona’s Pedro that is.
Oscar
He didn’t enjoy the best season in a Chelsea shirt last term but most Blues fans are still more than willing to throw Oscar into their best eleven given the talent he possesses on his day.
One of the players brought into Stamford Bridge to revolutionise the style in which they play, Oscar was formidable in his first season at the club and combines goalscoring with assisting abilities.
He didn’t score so many last term with the Brazilian hoping to register far more strikes this time around.
Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard is the go-to creative force that Chelsea rely on week to week in the Premier League.
While they boast many other world class players of course, Hazard is still the marquee man and the one capable of magicking up a piece of brilliance out of nowhere.
Sometimes looking as if he’s parallel with the floor, such is his pace when turning defenders, the Belgian international was crowned PFA Player of the Year last term and is only set to get better given he is still just 24-years-of-age.
Diego Costa
He may have resembled the Diego Costa that plays for Spain rather than the Costa who usually plays for Chelsea during last night’s friendly against the New York Red Bulls but when the former Atletico Madrid man is performing to the peak of his abilities, he’s difficult to stop.
An absolute bully of a forward, Costa is clinical in front of goal while also trying his best to get inside the heads of opposition defenders along the way too.
Playing on the edge, Costa can sometimes prove a liability but if you were to take these street-fighter like abilities away from the forward, he’d only be half the devastating player he is nowadays.
